Bruschetta

In honor of Carina and Jamie's birthdays, we decided to throw a party - so that they could meet most of our good friends and because we just can't help ourselves.  We will throw a party for nearly every occasion.  Any excuse to have our friends over and enjoy some good food with some quality company, we'll take it!  This time we decided to make it bruschetta themed.  We were inspired by one of our favorite restaurants in Phoenix: Postino Wine Cafe.  Every time we go there, we get four different kinds of bruschetta, and their combinations are mouth watering!

My sisters and I went to a few different grocery stores to pick up tons of different topping options.  We, in part, followed a few recipes we discovered online that looked delicious, but we also let ourselves be inspired by the interesting produce we discovered at Trader Joes (pea sprouts, champagne grapes, etc.)

It made for a beautiful spread.

Here are the recipes I found online - each of them tasted amazing.  A few of them I adapted as I saw fit :)

Gorgonzola, Golden Raisin, and Arugula
Adapted from here
Ingredients
1/2 cup Mascarpone cheese
1/3 cup Gorgonzola cheese (more or less, to taste)
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup Marsala Wine
Arugula
Procedure
Mix the Mascarpone cheese with the Gorgonzola.  Use more or less Gorgonzola, as you see fit.  I'm not a big fan of strong blue cheese, so I tend to use less.  In a small sauce pan, combine the raisins and Marsala.  Cover, and let simmer until raisins look nice and plump.  Add more wine if necessary.  You should end up with plump golden raisins, with very little liquid remaining. Spread the cheese on toasted bread, top with a generous amount of raisins, and finish with fresh arugula.

Farmers Cheese, Beet Green and Arugula Pesto, and Crispy Pancetta
Adapted from here
Ingredients 

Fresh Farmers Cheese
Pancetta
Pesto (recipe here, only I added a few handfuls of arugula in with the beet greens, as well as the juice of half a lemon)
Procedure
Crisp the pancetta in a skillet over medium high heat - as you would with bacon, only don't cook quite as long. Spread some farmers cheese then beet green arugula pesto atop toasted bread.  Top with crispy pancetta.


Beet, Garlic Labneh, and Beet Green and Arugula Pesto
Adapted from here
Ingredients  

1 cup plain Greek yogurt
3 cloves garlic
1/2 tsp salt
3 large beets, with greens attached
Pesto (recipe here, only I added a few handfuls of arugula in with the beet greens, as well as the juice of half a lemon)
Walnuts
Procedure
Remove the beet greens, and set aside for the pesto.  Roast beets in the oven at 350 for about 30 minutes.  You want the beets to be slightly tender, but still slightly crunchy.  When beets have cooled, peel them (a potato peeler works well), then slice them into even slices.  I used a mandolin on the thickest setting.  Combine the garlic and salt in a mortar and pestle.  Grind into a paste.  Add it to the Greek yogurt and stir well to combine.  Store in the fridge for about an hour, to meld the flavors.  Make the pesto according to the recipe above.  I included arugula and lemon juice, for lack of enough beet greens, and for flavor.  Spread toasted bread with the Labneh (greek yogurt mixture you just made!).  Top with a couple beet slices, a dollop of pesto, and a few walnuts. 

Brie, Apple, and Bacon Onion Chutney
Adapted from here and here
Ingredients
Brie Cheese
sliced Granny Smith Apple (about 1/4" thick)
Bacon Onion Chutney (recipe here)
Procedure
Top toasted bread with a slice of Brie, apple slices, and a generous scoop of the bacon onion chutney.


Sweet Ricotta, Strawberry, and Chocolate
Adapted from here
Ingredients
2/3 cup Ricotta cheese
1/3 cup Mascarpone cheese
1 Tbs powdered sugar
1/4 tsp ground vanilla bean (optional, but makes it delicious and so pretty!) found here
sliced strawberries
dark chocolate shavings
Procedure
Mix all ingredients except the chocolate and the strawberries.  Spread onto toasted bread, top with strawberry slices, then sprinkle with chocolate shavings.


A few things I set out on the table that weren't from any of these recipes:
- chopped tomatoes tossed with cubed fresh mozzarella and fresh basil
- sliced fresh figs
- Jarlsberg cheese
- whole grain mustard
- balsamic vinegar reduction
- honey
- marionberry jam
- pomegranate jelly
- pea sprouts
- champagne grapes
- Parmesan cheese 


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